Our industrial society is threatening the earth's natural systems and may ultimately, by initiating global climate change, endanger the very survival of life on earth. The building construction industry is a major contributor to global environmental problems, through its large scale consumption of resources and energy, and generation of pollution and waste.
Dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels is not sustainable, ecologically or politically, and is the leading cause of global climate change. In the U.S., the world's largest economy, buildings, not cars, produce the most carbon dioxide emmissions, and the average new house is 45 percent larger than it was 30 years ago.
In consideration of the above, and given that the fastest, least expensive way to slow climate change is to use less energy, the transition to a green building industry not only makes sense but is perhaps crucial. A green building, by definition, uses less energy to build and operate than a conventional building. It also generates less pollution and waste.
It also makes good economic sense to build green. In the short term, energy efficient upgrades can provide significant operation cost savings. In the long term, as energy costs continue to escalate, building anything other than green will not be economically feasible. Houses utilizing green design and construction strategies will become increasingly more desirable and valuable than conventionally built structures.
Greenbuilding can be a major contributor in the fight to slow climate change and reduce the negative environmental effects of our industrial economy. The technology and the design strategies are in place. They need only be implemented more widely to have a large and positive effect.
It is vital that we re-examine and change the way that we build.
